Behind the Score

Unravel the mystery behind the sounds you hear! This book is the original source for the renowned online music course Behind the Score. It highlights some of the most distinctive compositional techniques used by media composers, both past and present. Published in the summer of 2024, it was authored by four Berklee graduates who are all working successfully in media music. The book has since received widespread praise and is now required reading at the University of Westminster and DIs Institute of Music, and is distributed to college classrooms via Kortext, the UK’s leading digital textbook provider.

Authored by four prominent composers actively engaged in film composition, video game scoring, and music education, this book provides students with concepts to help generate their own compositions. The selected topics in the book are highly practical for contemporary media music composers and can be readily applied as you work through each chapter.

The writing credits of our authors include music for films, TV networks (Discovery Channel, NBC Universal), documentaries, games (MapleStory series, KartRider), and advertising campaigns for blockbuster films like Wonder Man (2025), Is This Thing On? (2024), Eddington (2024), Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025), The Front Room (A24 / 2024), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024), Top Gun: Maverick (2022), CrossfireX (2022), Aladdin (2019), and many others.